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Family Tradition: Mars, by Way of Carolina
When you've staked out your own little corner of the night sky, the names of the stars don't matter as much as the time you spend looking up.
written by Drew Perry
We're a bit of a show. Maybe more than a bit. Neither kid will sit in the cart anymore, and now, free-ranging through the grocery, they're tracing some unnamed land between circus and calamity. The Wee, when he's not seeking out breakable items, is shrieking, "Yike! Yike! Dragons!" He's 2. He hands his yikes out one at a time.
The Toad, for his part, is going on at extraordinary length about Mars. He's in kindergarten now, knows a great many things. Mars is the only planet where aliens live. There are good aliens and bad aliens. Or maybe there are only good aliens? He checks to see if I know. I do not know. The Wee arrives with a glass jar of something, throws it in the cart. It does not break. "Mars is as far away as from my room to Alaska," The Toad says.
We rocket around an endcap featuring a sugared cereal that the kids heretofore had not known existed. "Please," they say. "Please!" "No," I tell them. And that's our call-and-response for an aisle or two, until they start sword-fighting with a pair of Slim Jims. I get down on my knees, skip right through threats to bribery: If they can have good manners the rest of the way, then we can purchase, and even consume, hot chocolate.
"But then can we find a dark place to look for Mars?" The Toad asks, holding steady. For a few weeks — since the Mars thing cropped up — we've been talking about sky-watching. "Will you take me to a dark place? Do you know any?"
Kid, I want to say, parenting can get you to some pretty dark places. Instead, I tell him that I know a great spot. I stand up, and a stranger says to me, "Sir, you must be exhausted." He's youngish, college-age, at a place in his life where he's still sleeping in. The Wee's been up since 6 a.m., when he appeared like a ghost in our room, announcing: "I wake up." I laugh and tell the stranger it's not so bad. What I don't tell him, because I don't want to scare him, is that things are going pretty well. As trips to the grocery go, this one's been easy. No yelling, no crying, no blood or bone. Only dragons and aliens. And Mars.
Where do you take a kid to show him the night sky? The backyard will do fine; children don't understand light pollution, wouldn't know to miss the Milky Way. I have memories, though, of my father standing in my grandmother's pitch-black yard, pointing out constellations by flashlight beam. If there are six ways I think of him, then that's one, him showing me Orion's Belt where all I saw were stars. "Do you see it?" he asked me. I lied until I did.
Their grandmother's yard, then. My mother-in-law's. She lives up the side of a mountain just outside of Asheville, has a driveway that's plenty dark and a clearing that looks south into a winter sky more than full enough to do the job. Not that I don't show The Toad the sky before we get there, but we play it up: The stars are the best at your Abi's house. Wait till we see the stars at Abi's. Just you wait.
There is a hitch: Mars is up after midnight this winter, and we flirt with the wee hours enough as it is. Still, each night of our visit, we make hot chocolate — The Toad forgets nothing — and bundle the kids against the cold and the dark, and we go out there. The driveway is so steep as to make using it an adventure, but that lends itself perfectly to lying on your back and looking at the sky. I have no flashlight and the kids are dribbling hot chocolate everywhere and The Wee's mug at some point goes rolling off down the hill, but they're into it. Both of them. "Which one is Mars?" The Toad wants to know. "It's not up there," I tell him. "But it's in outer space," he says. "Yes," I say. "So is that one Mars?" he asks — and I tell him yes. The Wee gets ahold of this rhythm and asks again and again, seemingly about every star. "Yes," I say. "That one, too. They're all Mars."
This makes them laugh, and that makes me cry, because I get sentimental around this time of year, and because the sound of these two boys laughing — not slamming doors or kicking each other or stomping, wronged and furious, up the stairs — is all the New Year's resolution I ever hope to need. How can I get them to make that sound again?
For now, the answer's right in front of us: Let's just keep playing this game. Let's lie on our backs on the frigid driveway and look up. Let's misname each and every star in the Carolina sky.
This story was published on January 15, 2016
Drew Perry
Perry teaches writing at Elon University. His first novel, This Is Just Exactly Like You, was a finalist for the Flaherty-Dunnan prize from the Center for Fiction, a Best-of-the-Year pick from The Atlanta Journal Constitution and a SIBA Okra pick. His second, Kids These Days, was an Amazon Best-of-the-Month pick and was named to Kirkus Reviews 'Winter's Best Bets' and 'Books So Funny You're Guaranteed to Laugh' lists. You can purchase a collection of "Adventures with Toad & Wee" at ourstatestore.com.
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The PGA of America / CBS visited Pradera recently to film a portion of their upcoming documentary about the PGA Jr. League. They interviewed our Jr. Golf coach, Jason Witczak, as well as Jr. golfer Will Valkner and his family, as well as a few other Jr. golfers.
Join us at Pradera to watch the documentary!


A conversation with Nico Vassilakis about reading, looking, and visual poetry where my questions are invisible.
Perhaps I state the obvious when I write of staring at the alphabet and watching letters dislocate. Few vispoets write about what they do, even fewer about how they see.
The alphabet has a tendency to transmogrify when stared at long enough. It unravels and informs the viewer/reader of its simultaneous realities, that is, the housing of both visual and verbal elements.


This season in the First Division (Republic of Ireland), Shelbourne FC stats show they are performing Very Poor overall, currently placing them at 0/10 in the First Division Table, winning 0% of matches.
On average Shelbourne score 0 goals and concede 0 goals per match. 0% of this Shelbourne's matches end with both teams scoring and their average total goals per match is 0.
• Shelbourne has scored a total of 0 goals this season.
• Shelbourne has conceded a total of 0 goals this season.
Today Shelbourne host Limerick in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Drogheda United host Shelbourne in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Shelbourne host Bray Wanderers in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Longford Town host Shelbourne in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Cobh Ramblers host Shelbourne in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Shelbourne host Wexford in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Athlone Town host Shelbourne in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Shelbourne host Cabinteely in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Galway United host Shelbourne in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Limerick host Shelbourne in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Shelbourne host Drogheda United in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Bray Wanderers host Shelbourne in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Shelbourne host Longford Town in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Shelbourne host Cobh Ramblers in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Wexford host Shelbourne in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Shelbourne host Athlone Town in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Cabinteely host Shelbourne in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Today Shelbourne host Galway United in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
in the First Division from Republic of Ireland.
Over 7.5 ~ 13.5 Corners are calculated from total corners in a match that Shelbourne FC has participated in the 2019 season of First Division.
Shelbourne FC's stats indicate that ?% of their matches accumulated over 9.5 total corners. While 2019 season of First Division has an average of ?% for over 9.5.
?% of Shelbourne FC's matches had over 3.5 cards. Compared to this, First Division has an average of ?% for over 3.5 cards.
Over 2.5 ~ 8.5 Corners For are calculated from corners that Shelbourne FC has won during a match.
Shelbourne FC has won over 4.5 corners in ?% of their matches.
Over 0.5 ~ 6.5 Cards Received are calculated from cards that Shelbourne FC has received during a match.
Shelbourne FC received over 2.5 cards in ?% of their matches.
Over 2.5 ~ 8.5 Corners Against are calculated from corners that Shelbourne FC's opponent has won during a match.
Over 0.5 ~ 6.5 Cards Opponent are calculated from cards that Shelbourne FC's opponent has received during a match.


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Rachael Dundas
Busy weekend ahead for music fans
Free public performances by music students, Friday in the Music Building, will open a weekend full of recitals.
Hope Foreman
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Project Notifications
Memorial Hall - AHU #1 & #2 Temporary Shutdown/HVAC, Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 2:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Library (East) Main/Leddy Library West Wing - LED Lighting Upgrades - Wednesday, January 25 at 8:00 a.m. to Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.
Building Update: Essex Hall - Various Building Entrances (North, South, West, etc.), rooms B-18, B-19, B-24, B-03/B-05, M-07, M-13, Friday, January 27 at 8:00 a.m. to Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.
Essex Hall / Leddy Library Main Exterior Door Upgrades - Various Building Entrances (North, South, West, etc.), rooms B-18, B-19, B-24, B-03/B-05, M-07, M-13, Friday, January 27 at 8:00 a.m. to Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.
Centre for Engineering Innovation - Charge Lab Renovations/Hot Water Heating Loop Shutdown/Entire Building Perimeter Heating Radiators, Thursday, January 19, 2023, 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Edited Transcript of AHT earnings conference call or presentation 1-Mar-19 4:00pm GMT
Q4 2018 Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc Earnings Call
DALLAS Mar 7, 2019 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc earnings conference call or presentation Friday, March 1, 2019 at 4:00:00pm GMT
* Deric S. Eubanks
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - CFO & Treasurer
* Douglas A. Kessler
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - President & CEO
* Jeremy J. Welter
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - COO
* Jordan Jennings
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - Manager of IR
* Arpine Kocharyan
UBS Investment Bank, Research Division - Director and Analyst
* Chris Jon Woronka
Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division - Research Analyst
* Michael Joseph Bellisario
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division - VP and Senior Research Analyst
* Tyler Anton Batory
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division - VP of Travel, Lodging and Leisure
Good day, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ashford Hospitality Trust Fourth Quarter 2018 Year-end Results Conference call. Today's conference is being recorded.
At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to Mr. Jordan Jennings, Investor Relations for Ashford Hospitality Trust. Please go ahead, sir.
Jordan Jennings, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - Manager of IR [2]
Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's conference call to review the results for Ashford Hospitality Trust for the fourth quarter and full year 2018 and to update you on recent developments.
On the call today will be Douglas Kessler, President and Chief Executive Officer; Deric Eubanks, Chief Financial Officer; Jeremy Welter, Chief Operating Officer. The results, as well as a notice of the accessibility of this conference call on a listen-only basis over the Internet, were distributed yesterday afternoon in a press release that has been covered by the financial media.
At this time, let me remind you that certain statements and assumptions in this conference call contain or are based upon forward-looking information that are being make made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities regulation. Such forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, uncertainties and known or unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These factors are more fully discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The forward-looking statements included in this conference call are only made as of the date of this conference call and the company is not obligated to publicly update or revise them.
In addition, certain terms used in this call are non-GAAP financial measures, reconciliations of which are provided in the company's earnings release and accompanying tables or schedules, which have been filed on Form 8-K with the SEC on February 28, 2019 and may also be accessed through the company's website at www.ahtreit.com.
Each listener is encouraged to review those reconciliations provided in the earnings release together, with all other information provided in the release. Also, unless otherwise stated, all reported results discussed in this call compare the fourth quarter of 2018 with the fourth quarter of 2017.
I will now turn the call over to Douglas Kessler. Please go ahead, sir.
Douglas A. Kessler, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - President & CEO [3]
Good morning, and thank you for joining us to discuss Ashford Hospitality Trust's fourth quarter progress. I want to begin with providing an update on the success we're having with our ERP initiative with Ashford Inc., then I'll review our financial review results and other items.
Given our approximately 17% insider ownership of Ashford Trust, we believe we have tremendous alignment with our shareholders, which encourages us to think and act like owners. Our strategies throughout our 16-year history have consistently focused on ways to create shareholder value. Many of our diligent efforts have been economically transformational and successful over the years. We believe that ERP is one of these initiatives and will provide meaningful benefits to improve our competitive position as well as increased shareholder value.
As we've discussed previously pursuant to the ERP initiative, Ashford Inc. is committed to provide $50 million to the company on a programmatic basis, equating to approximately 10% of each new investment's acquisition price to be used for the purchase of FF&E and properties owned by the company. We believe the ERP program has the opportunity to significantly improve returns on hotel acquisitions and benefit us by effectively expanding cash available for future investment or other purposes. The attractiveness of the ERP is to make good deals, great deals. The existence of this program is also advantageous given the improvement in deal flow for properties that fit our focused investment criteria of upper upscale, full-service hotels. A very competitive bidding equity environment for acquisitions today, we see this program providing us with a significant advantage to win deals with accretive returns. We intend to be successful on our efforts as we balance expected returns, underwritten growth and our cost of capital. Since establishing the ERP, we have already completed $406 million of high-quality acquisitions that have utilized the program, which equates to approximately 80% committed utilization of the pledged $50 million of ERP funding.
To that end, in October, we completed the acquisition of the 157-room La Posada de Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico for $50 million. The purchase of La Posada was the company's second hotel acquisition to benefit from the ERP with Ashford Inc. committing to fund $5 million. The acquisition increases our ownership presence in a very attractive Santa Fe market. With its strong Marriott brand affiliation and high-quality amenities, La Posada is positioned as one of the leading properties in the lodging market with excellent demand and supply characteristics. The hotel performed exceptionally well during the fourth quarter with RevPAR index growth of 9.8% and 7.3%, respectively, since we acquired the property. Additionally, Remington Lodging, who also manages our Hilton in Santa Fe, took over management of the property upon completing the acquisition. And we expect to realize significant value-add operational synergies from Remington's management of both properties.
Our momentum carried into 2019, when, in January, we acquired the 310-room Embassy Suites by Hilton New York Midtown Manhattan for $195 million. In connection with this acquisition, Ashford Inc. has committed to provide Ashford Trust with approximately $19.5 million under the terms of the ERP. We expect this newly constructed 41-story hotel ideally located near Bryant Park and Times Square to benefit from being the only Embassy Suites in the dynamic Manhattan market. Additionally, as our direct hotel investment in New York City, we believe the recent positive changes in Manhattan's hotel metrics point to a favorable timing of this addition to our portfolio. Having recently opened in 2018, this property is still ramping up operations. We believe there are significant upside at the property, and we expect the ERP contribution to this investment will significantly increase the returns for our shareholders.
Additionally, this week, we purchased the Hilton Santa Cruz Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz, California, for $50 million. Our latest acquisition to take advantage of the ERP has an attractive location near the expanding tech market in San Jose and just minutes from Santa Cruz, one of Northern California's most desirable beach communities. This property also benefits from being the only full-service Hilton branded asset in the Santa Cruz market. The acquisition was partially funded by the issuance of approximately 1.5 million OP units. The OP units were issued at a price of $7 per unit, which reflects an approximate 31% premium to yesterday's stock price. We also assumed $25.3 million mortgage loan that bears interest at a fixed rate of 4.7% and matures in March of 2025. In conjunction with this transaction, Ashford Inc. has committed to provide us with $5 million as part of the ERP.
We believe these acquisitions are highly favorable investments on their own. However, with the ERP, the returns should be even greater. I can assure you that our underwriting efforts continue to be focused, diligent and with the same high standards to improve our portfolio with the best assets for the best value. We strongly believe that ERP provides us not only with a competitive advantage, but it is also structured to substantially enhance shareholder value.
Let me now turn to our fourth quarter and full year performance. Our actual RevPAR for all hotels for the full year increased 1%, while comparable RevPAR for all hotels during the fourth quarter decreased 0.6%. For the fourth quarter comparable RevPAR for hotels not under renovation increased 0.6%. For the fourth quarter, we reported AFFO per share of $0.18, and we reported adjusted EBITDAre of $89.8 million. For the full year, AFFO per share was $1.26, and adjusted EBITDAre was $411.5 million.
As for our balance sheet, we believe in the benefits of an appropriate amount of nonrecourse leverage to enhance equity returns. Over the past couple of years, we've been very active in refinancing majority of our existing loans, both to improve the spreads compared to the prior loan terms and to extend our maturities.
We also seek to maintain a high cash and cash equivalents balance between 25% to 35% of our equity market capitalization for financial flexibility. We note that this excess cash balance can provide a hedge during uncertain economic times as well as the requisite funds to capitalize on attractive investment opportunities as they arise.
As of the fourth quarter of 2018, our net working capital totaled $398 million equating to approximately $3.29 per share, representing a significant 61% of our current share price as of yesterday's close.
We continue to make progress on our investor outreach efforts, and during 2019, we intend to get out on the road to meet with investors to communicate our strategy and the attractiveness of an investment in Ashford Trust. We look forward to speaking with many of you during the upcoming events.
Looking ahead to 2019, we have a high-quality, well-diversified portfolio. And we remain focused on accretive transactions as well as proactive asset management initiatives. We're committed to maximizing value for our shareholders as we focus on generating solid operating performance, continuing to seek investment opportunities and efficiently managing our balance sheet.
I will now turn the call over to Deric to review our fourth quarter financial performance.
Deric S. Eubanks, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - CFO & Treasurer [4]
Thanks, Douglas. For the fourth quarter of 2018, we reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $65.4 million or $0.66 per diluted share. For the full year of 2018, we reported net loss attributable to common stockholders of $169.5 million, or $1.75 per diluted share.
For the quarter, we reported AFFO per diluted share of $0.18 and for the full year of 2018, we reported AFFO per diluted share of $1.26. Adjusted EBITDAre totaled $89.8 million for the quarter, while adjusted EBITDAre for the full year was $411.5 million.
At the end of the fourth quarter, we had $4 billion of mortgage loans with a blended average interest rate of 5.8%. Our loans were 9% fixed rate and 91% floating rate. All of our loans are nonrecourse, and we have a well laddered maturity schedule. Interest rate caps are in place for virtually all of our floating-rate loans. Including the market value of our equity investment in Ashford Inc., we ended the quarter with net working capital of $398 million.
As of December 31, 2018, our portfolio consisted of 119 hotels with 25,060 net rooms. Our share count at year-end stood at 121 million fully diluted shares outstanding, which is comprised of 101 million shares of common stock and 19.9 million OP units.
With regard to dividends, the Board of Directors declared a fourth quarter 2018 cash dividend of $0.12 per share or $0.48 on an annualized basis. Based on yesterday's stock price, this represents a 9% dividend yield, among the highest in the hotel REIT space.
On the capital markets front, during the quarter, we completed a $25 million property level mortgage financing for the La Posada de Santa Fe. The loan is a 2-year initial term with 3 1-year extension options subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. The loan is interest only with a rate of LIBOR plus 2.55%. Subsequent to quarter-end, in January, in connection with the acquisition of Embassy Suites, Manhattan, we entered into a $145 million nonrecourse mortgage loan. The loan has a 3-year initial term with 2 1-year extension options, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. The loan is interest only with a rate of LIBOR plus 3.9%.
In connection with the closing of the Hilton Santa Cruz Scotts Valley acquisition, we assumed an existing nonrecourse mortgage with the balance of approximately $23.5 million. The loan bears interest at a fixed rate of 4.7% and matures in March of 2025. We also issued approximately 1.5 million OP units to the sellers at a price of $7 per unit.
This concludes our financial review. I would now like to turn it over to Jeremy to discuss our asset management activities for the quarter.
Jeremy J. Welter, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - COO [5]
Thank you, Deric. Comparable RevPAR for our portfolio decreased 0.6% during the fourth quarter of 2018. However, this performance represented a 20 basis point gain relative to our hotel's competitors. Comparable RevPAR for hotels not under renovation grew 0.6% during the quarter. For the year, comparable RevPAR for the entire portfolio grew 0.1%.
Holiday shifts did not significantly impact results during the fourth quarter and the government shutdown led to minimal impact in December. However, our portfolio did experience a large downward year-over-year impact from the markets that experienced a boost last year from hurricane-related business, which were Houston, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Atlanta.
Before highlighting some of our results for the fourth quarter, I want to address the impacts felt from the government shutdown. While we do not see much impact during the fourth quarter, the government shutdown is certainly playing a more prominent role during the first quarter of 2019. We own 9 hotels in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia area, and Washington, D.C. area ranks first in terms number of rooms and hotel EBITDA in our portfolio. Currently, the estimated impact of the government shutdown is north of $1 million as comparable RevPAR for our Washington, D.C. area hotels during January decreased by 12.3%. Though negligibly affected by the government shutdown, our fourth quarter RevPAR was affected by the midterm elections and renovations at our 2 largest D.C. hotels, Marriott Gateway and Embassy Suites Crystal City. Excluding D.C., our entire portfolio's comparable RevPAR would have been positive for the quarter.
Throughout 2018, I've discussed the impact of renovations on our portfolio. I'm now excited to discuss a few of these transformational renovations and how they are positioning us for long-term success. Since I was just discussing Washington, D.C., I would like to turn to our largest D.C. area hotel, the Marriott Gateway in Arlington, Virginia. We're in the final stages of a major renovation completing the last remaining ballroom to Arlington ballroom, the pre-function space and the public restrooms. The remaining portions of the lobby have also been renovated. The ongoing final items are painting the exterior of the building and adding pavers and lining to the driveway and porte cochere. This major renovation at our largest property, in terms of the room count, will position us well going forward. With the announcement by Amazon that Crystal City will be their second headquarter location, we're even more enthusiastic about this hotel's future operations, given its proximity to Amazon's HQ2. Additionally, with 2 other sizable hotels in Crystal City, we have over 1,200 rooms in this dynamic and growing market.
Next, I would like to discuss the Renaissance Nashville, our largest hotel in terms of total hotel revenue. The first phase of the comprehensive first floor restaurant and lobby renovation was completed in September, including the successful opening of the new restaurant, Little Fib. During the fourth quarter, food and beverage revenue increased by $1.3 million, with food and beverage departmental profit increasing by $810,000 or 245%. The second phase of the lobby renovation was completed in January of this year, including the opening of the market, coffee bar and quick service food outlet. The final phase of the remaining space renovation in the former Nashville convention center space is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2019 and includes an additional 10,000 square feet within the new Fifth + Broadway development adjacent to the hotel. Additionally, the presidential suite renovation has been completed.
Performance during the fourth quarter and throughout 2018 has been impressive, given the ongoing renovation. During the fourth quarter comparable RevPAR grew 1.1%, representing growth of 120 -- 110 basis points relative to the hotel's competitors and the Nashville CBD upscale and above chains submarket, respectively. Hotel EBITDA grew $890,000 or 17.5% with hotel EBITDA flow-through of 54%. For the full year 2018, hotel EBITDA flow-through was 67%. We believe that with the Marriott Gateway and the Nashville Renaissance, our 2 largest hotels in terms of rooms and total hotel revenue, coming out of comprehensive renovations, they are well positioned for success within 2 of the country's top markets.
The last phase of renovation, I'd like to discuss is the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta downtown. The $18 million guestroom renovation commenced in February 2018, with a significant portion of the work completed by the end of the fourth quarter. Despite the ongoing renovation, during the year, comparable RevPAR grew 1.5%. The new rooms product has allowed us to drive rate, which increased 4.1% in the fourth quarter. This RevPAR growth represented a 570 basis point increase relative to the Atlanta luxury class market. This solid performance highlights our affiliate Premier Project Management's strategic approach to renovations and their project management program, which incentivizes the project managers to minimize RevPAR index impact during the renovation. All work at the property was finalized in January 2019, 10 days prior to the Super Bowl. Completion prior to the Super Bowl allowed guests to enjoy brand-new guestroom experience, while maximizing revenue for the property during this high-demand event.
During the roughly year long project, only about 2 floors or 45 rooms were out of order at any given time. Guestroom upgrades include new soft goods, case goods and shower conversions for the king rooms. We also expanded the club lounge by 320 square feet, increasing its seating capacity by 25. The initial response from our guests has been overwhelmingly positive. On another note, by the end of 2018, J&S Audio Visual was in 13 of our hotels, including 3, I just mentioned: Marriott Gateway, Renaissance Nashville and Ritz Carlton Atlanta. Results from integrating J&S into our hotels have been positive, with average revenue per group room night up 21% and average customer satisfaction scores up 15% since the transition occurred from the prior AV provider, highlighting J&S' incredible levels of services. We will continue to work to get J&S into more of our hotels.
During 2019, we will continue to invest in our portfolio to maintain our competitive position. In total, we estimate spending approximately $130 million to $145 million in capital expenditures during the year, which compares very favorably to last year. This will primarily be comprised of guestroom renovations at the Marriott DFW Airport, Fairfield Inn & Suites Kennesaw, Embassy Suites Crystal City, Hilton Garden Inn, BWI Airport, Hyatt Regency Coral Gables and Hampton Inn Buford.
Additionally, we are continuously identifying opportunities to create value throughout our portfolio such as adding 4 KEYS in Hilton Boston Back Bay, 2 KEYS at the Marriott Bridgewater as well as capitalizing on projects to reduce energy consumption.
That concludes our prepared remarks, and we will now open up the call for Q&A.
(Operator Instructions) We'll take our first question from Tyler Batory with Janney Capital Markets.
Tyler Anton Batory, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division - VP of Travel, Lodging and Leisure [2]
First, to start off, and Jeremy, I think, you touched on this in the opening remarks. But I'm just curious if you can provide a little bit more detail on this. When we look at your hotels, ex renovations for the quarter and the year, it looks like you lag some of your peers in the broader U.S. hotel market. So I'm just trying to understand what exactly is driving that. So can you talk a little bit more and expand on your RevPAR index, for both the year and the quarter? And I'm also just curious how RevPAR for the fourth quarter came in versus your internal expectations?
Sure. I can take that. For the year, we lost market share, about, call it, maybe 0.7%, and then, for the quarter, we were up 20 basis points. As for the fourth quarter, we actually outperformed our competitor sets, but for the year, we did lose share. And I can talk to you that a little bit, but as you know that the previous 4 years, for this portfolio, we gained market share. And so this is the first share loss that we had in the last 5 years. And one of those reasons is that we had a change in our team. The Head of our RO, Revenue Optimization, actually was promoted to oversee Remington, and so we had to backfill some of those positions. So we've got that team in place, and I can tell you that, we've got a lot of momentum heading into this year from a market share perspective. So I'm pretty optimistic that we should see some share gains on a go-forward basis. As it relates specifically to the fourth quarter, there are a lot of moving parts that I kind of want to walk through one of which is, D.C., we've got a large D.C. -- presence in D.C. Election years are always tough for D.C., as you know. So that did weigh in on the quarter. It wasn't the government shutdown, but it was just the impact of the midterm elections; plus we had some heavy renovation activity at Marriott Crystal City Gateway that displaced a lot of revenue because we had our ballroom out. Aside from that, you can look at the markets that were down. Miami was down quite a bit. It was down, call it, north of 15%. And when you look at the quarter of 2017 -- fourth quarter of 2017, it was up 16%. And so the comparable there is related to all the good business that we got associated with Hurricane Irma, which as you know, hit in the fourth quarter of 2017 -- I guess, the -- sorry, the third quarter of 2017, but created a lot of long-term good business associated with recovery efforts. And so we had a decent amount of pickup in markets like Miami, Houston, Atlanta as well as some other Florida markets. And specifically on Houston, we were down double digits in the fourth quarter of 2018, but when you wind back the clock to the fourth quarter of 2017 that market was up 20%. And so it's just some really difficult comps associated with some of those markets that benefited from the hurricanes. And obviously, Houston was a different hurricane than Irma, but there was a lot of good business that we had to pickup that we had in the fourth quarter associated with those -- with that business. Does that help?
Yes. No, it's very helpful. I appreciate all that color. And then second question I had just on the Embassy Suites, Manhattan. Can you talk a little bit more about the upside potential of that property? And certainly, we see the better New York City RevPAR trends, but it still seems like a tough market from an operations perspective. So can you speak to what your expectations are for labor and managing expenses in that market?
Sure, Tyler. It's Douglas. I'll start off and Jeremy will follow up. Look, we have -- we made this investment in New York, this was our first purchase of a direct hotel in New York City since we've been a public company. We looked at a lot of deals over the years, we've evaluated the timing to get into New York, and we really felt like this was an exceptionally good time to enter into the market, just from a macro level. RevPAR for New York, obviously, as you're well aware, increased 6.4% for upscale change in 2018, and overall, the market was up 3.4%. When you look at New York, this is a long-term growth market. Its CAGR since 1991 has been about 4% in terms of RevPAR and that compares to about 3.5%, I believe, to the other top 25 markets. So long term, it's a good market to be in. Picking your times to enter, I think, is what's key. And I think we nailed it in terms of the timing to enter into this market. After multiple years of increasing supply growth, according to Smith Travel, the number of new hotel rooms that opened decelerated by 32% compared to 2017. And then, moreover demand growth continues to outpace supply growth and that was the case in 2017 and in 2018, and that's really been the first time that's occurred since 2013. So year-to-date, the occupancy was really at all-time highs in that market. And so we look at that, and we realize the profitability is turning the corner for hotels in New York. We're very excited about all the room demand. It was eighth consecutive record-breaking year for room demand and in terms of visitors in New York. And obviously, there's many infrastructure enhancements that are taking place in the city, what is already a dynamic market, but obviously, the changes that are taking place at LaGuardia, the Hudson Yards development, which is the largest private real estate development in the U.S. in its history, that will increase demand. And so when we look at this opportunity it was as follows. We basically acquired a brand new, well located, near Times Square and Bryant Park hotel, that is the only Embassy Suites in Manhattan. It's a very efficient box. It has some very attractive amenities including some patio suite rooms, it's got a sky lawn, it's got a great fitness area, restaurant. It really is a great hotel asset for us. And it met our criteria on many levels. We felt that the financing that we got with this hotel was attractive, combined with the ERP capital. We have a view that while the asset opened up in 2018, it is ramping up exceptionally well. The property had a RevPAR, for the past 3 months through December of 2018 of $254 with a 92% occupancy and an ADR of 276 and continues to still ramp up. So we look at this on a per key basis with the inclusion of ERP just over $0.5 million, and we found that to be not only attractive purchase price, an attractive timing of the cycle, attractive financing, with operational upside, with Remington taking over management, and so all in, we're very upbeat and positive about this investment. Jeremy, you want to add anything?
I don't have a lot to add. And I think that we spend a ton of time on this from an underwriting perspective. And for New York, you're right, it has been a challenging market. Last 10 years, RevPAR has been down. We stayed on the sidelines. A lot of folks asked us to get into the market, and we've been very disciplined. We think this is the right time and with this hotel being brand new, the only Embassy Suites in the market and then its location within the market, I think, it makes it a very attractive investment. If you look at where the supply is coming around in New York, there's virtually none coming into Times Square as well as the adjacent tract that we're in as well, the supply is coming in within that tract on the west side, which is that Hudson development. So we think we're uniquely positioned, and we think our timing is right.
We'll take our next question from Michael Bellisario with Baird.
Michael Joseph Bellisario, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division - VP and Senior Research Analyst [8]
On the acquisition front, can you maybe update us on kind of how you're balancing leverage today relative to your target, but also still trying to get the remaining ERFP capital out the door?
Sure. I'll talk about the ERP and kind of the transaction pipeline, and then Deric might want to chime in a little bit on the balance sheet. I think, since the announcement of the ERP, back in the summer of last year, certainly, under a lot of deals, but I think given the 4 deals that we acquired, the Hilton Alexandria, La Posada de Santa Fe, Embassy Suites New York and the Hilton Santa Cruz, it clearly demonstrates discipline in what we've acquired. All the assets have a materially higher RevPAR than our portfolio. All of them for our projections are forecasted 5-year IRRs inclusive of the ERP to be well into the 20-plus percent range, so very excited about that. We don't have an appetite to grow just for growth sake. And I think that as we've always said, our high insider ownership really aligns us with shareholders to make sure that we're just not growing to grow, we want to grow accretively. And when we think about growing from a transaction standpoint, we, obviously, have purchased quite a bit over the past 9 months or so, $406 million of assets, and that utilized approximately 81% of the ERP capital. So when you take into account, ERP is 10% of the purchase price, that's $40.6 million of committed ERP capital, leaving us with just over $9 million. So if you wanted to perfectly fit the puzzle pieces together, that would give us the opportunity to buy just over a $90 million asset to round out the ERFP initial tranche of the committed capital from Ashford Inc. Obviously, the agreement contemplates more potentially by mutual agreement, if both parties want to extend or expand the ERFP. But when we look at the transaction pipeline today, we've been very excited about what we've acquired. In terms of what's out there right now, I'd say that it's -- there are a decent number of deals, but in terms of relative to what we're looking for, we are stretched kind of then in terms of seeing some deals that really appeal to us. I think we hit the sweet spot from a timing standpoint in the rollout of the ERP. And when we look at what we consider, we, obviously, have to take into account our share price, we have to look at the cash on the balance sheet, we have to look at our leverage levels when we're considering additional acquisitions. And I think for right now, we are exercising even a little bit more patience given capital market situations, obviously, stock price taken into that account, particularly right now. And so maybe a little bit more prudence on the pace of the acquisition activity. Deric, do you want to make any comments on balance sheet?
Deric S. Eubanks, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - CFO & Treasurer [10]
Yes, sure. So Mike, it's Deric. And as we sit here today, we're slightly above our targeted leverage level. And I think, as Douglas mentioned, we were comfortable going above that because we saw some very attractive acquisition opportunities that we think will generate great returns for our shareholders. But also because of the attractive maturity schedule that we have, we've got very few near-term maturities. We've got a lot of cash on our balance sheet. So we were comfortable going a little bit above our target or the high end of our target for these acquisitions. But I'd say, in terms of where we go from here, I'd say, we're not really inclined to increase our leverage much from where we sit here today.
Michael Joseph Bellisario, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division - VP and Senior Research Analyst [11]
Got it. And then just on those 3 of the 4 recent deals, excluding New York, any bigger or big CapEx plans in terms of PIPs or any renovations planned for this year or next year for those 3 assets?
Douglas A. Kessler, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - President & CEO [12]
None really to speak of that are significant, obviously, New York newly built and the Santa Cruz asset had recently got some CapEx, and so anything would be fairly minor with respect to the 3 properties.
Jeremy J. Welter, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. - COO [13]
Yes. I think you can assume, actually for all, including Alexandria as well, and Santa Cruz, La Posada and New York that we should be able to spend within escrow for any other CapEx we need on a combined basis. So I think, we're in pretty good shape for the foreseeable future.
That's helpful. And just lastly maybe on the disposition front. Any updated thoughts on your select service assets that you own or any changes that you're seeing in the transaction market for your portfolio transactions versus one-off sales?
Well, I'll give you the macro view. Obviously, last year was a significant year from overall transaction volume standpoint. I think it was up about 50% over prior year, a lot of that had to do clearly with some significant portfolio trades that occurred. But even single asset transactions were up, both full-service and select service. So a fairly healthy year last year from a macro standpoint. And in addition, the deal volume being up, prices were up, just about 2% according to some third-party metrics. So when we take that all into consideration, I think, we're looking sort of holistically at our portfolio, not really focused on a select strategy here or a full-service strategy there other than our investment strategy, which is to focus predominantly on upper upscale full-service hotels. Having said that, we have conducted some broker opinions of value on our hotels, that's something that is fairly common for us to undertake. We've stated, I think, previously, that we're going to be opportunistic with respect to asset sales. In the past year, we sold $43 million of select service assets, that I think accomplished some themes generally, namely, selling lower RevPAR assets at what we believe to be attractive all-in cap rates once you take into consideration what the buyer would have to spend on CapEx following the acquisition. And we're also, as part of that analysis, evaluating the future CapEx spend on those assets relative to the EBITDA, looking at that ratio in conjunction with any sales proceeds and the relative debt payoff. So when I say a more holistic view, I think it's -- it is not undertaking a strategy just for strategic's sake. As I've said previously, it is about undertaking an economic strategy to maximize the value of our portfolio to the extent any reshaping is done by selling lower RevPAR assets to improve cash flow and balance sheet as well. So to the extent we have any sales of whether it's select service or full-service hotels in the future, we'll be doing so to achieve portfolio performance enhancement.
We'll take our next question from Chris Woronka with Deutsche Bank.
Chris Jon Woronka, Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division - Research Analyst [17]
Maybe to follow-up a little bit on the last question from Michael. I -- you guys have been a little bit different on strategy. You've acquired some 4-star kind of these upper upscale hotels, you haven't sold a lot of those hotels. A lot of your peers are walking away from that segment selectively to the extent maybe they have commodity hotel. What's your kind of outlook for the -- I guess, it's a broader question, but what's your outlook for that kind of 4-star upper upscale segment that maybe attracts you to it more than others?
Well, I think it's more of a -- an effort perhaps by our peers to buy RevPAR and buy the multiple story on that. I think that, for us, what we see is a balance. And we've said this, that the trade-off of RevPAR and initial yield that you're buying as well as value add, all sort of comes together for us I think in the segment combined with the fact that there is a greater number of transaction opportunities from which we can cherry-pick and select. And I think that when we look at achieving a high enough RevPAR and I think, these 4 acquisitions clearly indicate a movement and a higher RevPAR, but not necessarily chasing the highest RevPAR because we feel that the yields on those assets are not conducive to paying a dividend at the level that we have. And on top of it, we believe that many of the assets that we're looking at have more of an opportunity for us to put in place third-party management, namely our affiliate, Remington, to add value to the properties. So combine that with more of those transactions available to select from, we think that, that's smart from a transaction standpoint. Now from an overall utilization, is -- are 4-star hotels, less desirable? No, absolutely not. We're buying upper upscale full-service hotel. So I think that I'm not sure if that's what you're suggesting, but these are high-quality, high-demand hotels and the locations that we're in, I think are top locations given the demand generators that are near these properties. So we're very excited. As to why some of the other groups are selling, I can't really comment on their strategy much more than that.
Yes, that's great. And maybe just a quick supply question. I guess, if you kind of look back on 2018 or maybe even go back to '17 as well, are there any -- as the competitive supply around some of your maybe select service hotels, has that impact been more severe than maybe you initially thought or less severe? And what's your general outlook for supply in '19 and '20?
Yes. I can take that. I mean, we've had -- I think that's a general -- your general thesis on some of the select-service hotels. They're just -- they're more susceptible to new supply growth, and I think that holds true for us. If you look at over the last 12 months, we've absorbed within our markets close to about 2.8%, close to 3%, new supply coming into all of our hotels on a revenue-weighted basis, okay? Going forward that number is coming down closer to 2% over the next 2 years. So a lot of the -- I think we've kind of hit the, hopefully, the high point of some of the supply coming in. And then it varies by market. You can look at a market like Nashville that has had a ton of supply over the last several years, but the demand has always been pretty strong as well. So it's not only just select service, it's -- it is definitely location driven. But we've absorbed a decent amount of supply over the last couple of years, and we're starting to see that taper off just a little bit.
We'll take our next question from Robin Farley, UBS.
Arpine Kocharyan, UBS Investment Bank, Research Division - Director and Analyst [22]
This is Arpine up for Robin. Marriott just mentioned that within group their lower commissions earlier on might have impacted business. Did you see any impact from that at all? And then, just your general views on health of the group business for '19? And what is paced for growth -- pace of growth for this year?
Yes. This is Jeremy. I can take that question. I'll just give you our group pace for 2019. We're up about 300 basis point for our portfolio. So it -- we don't really see a big impact from the change in the commission structure, especially since most of the other major state brands have done the same initiative as well, that you're familiar with. We did see when they did announced that they were going to cut commissions, we saw an acceleration of some of the bookings when it was still under the 10%, but that has kind of normalized now. And so when you look at -- for 2019, we're up 300 basis points, 3% in group pace, and that's representing close to 70% of what we have on the books for the year. Fast forwarding to 2020, group pace is quite a bit stronger, but it's a much lower number in terms of what's on the book, so it becomes a lot less relevant at this point where we are right now.
That's really helpful. And then, one quick follow-up. You mentioned some cautiousness regarding transactions. Does that also mean that for now you will hold off upsizing with Ashford Inc. the returns program?
Well, we continue to look at transactions, it's just that, what we see out there right now doesn't come across as appealing as what we've recently acquired. I think, in terms of any additional tranches of ERP, let's just see, if we round out the remaining ERP, which is approximately another $90 million worth of deals before we engage in those discussions.
Ladies and gentlemen, this will conclude today's question-and-answer session. At this time, I'd like to turn the call back to management for any additional or closing remarks.
Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. We look forward to speaking with you next time on our next earnings call. Thank you. Have a good day.
Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's discussion. We appreciate your participation.
UnitedHealth raises full-year profit outlook after strong second quarter


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Prince Harry & Meghan Markle's Fiji Balcony Photo Recreated An Iconic Royal Moment
These two just stay making iconic moments, don't they? Whether they're interacting with the locals, soaking in the sights, or are simply snapped sneaking in a few romantic glances, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's first official royal tour has been nothing short of historical. Speaking of which, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Fiji balcony photo was historical in its own right, as People reported — and not just because they've both perfected the royal wave.
The past-and-present iconic photos were both taken at Fiji's Grand Pacific Hotel, which has been visited by several royal family members throughout the years. Harry and Markle's balcony picture has been drumming up comparisons to one set of guests in particular, though: Harry's grandparents, aka Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
Back in 1953, the Queen and Philip stayed at that very same hotel during the monarch's world coronation tour, according to E! News. At the time, Her Majesty was 37 years old — which just happens to be exactly how old Markle is now. Coincidence? Yeah, probably. It's still an interesting similarity worth noting, though.
When the Queen and Philip first visited the Grand Pacific more than six decades ago, the monarch — wearing a voluminous white gown — waved to the crowd from the left side of the balcony, with a suited-up Philip waving beside her on the right.
Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
OK, now look at the Oct. 23 picture of Harry and Markle below. Totally not a coincidence, right?
Markle is wearing a fascinator, not wearing a tiara, obviously, and her white dress is definitely a much more modernized take on what the Queen wore back in the day. Still, the way she and Harry are decked out for the Fiji photo op is clearly an intentional nod to their prestigious predecessors.
Pool/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Of course, the royal couple did more than just pose for photos at the famous hotel. They sure do pose for a lot of photos, though, don't they? Not that anyone's complaining — well, except for maybe the Duke and Duchess themselves, but only like, somewhere super private and in very hushed tones.
While in Fiji — which nearly marked the half-way point of their royal tour — the couple attended an evening gala where Harry addressed the crowd. "This visit is particularly nostalgic for us as a young married couple," the Duke remarked, as per People. "My grandparents stayed in this very hotel, the Grand Pacific, a number of times over the years."
He continued,
"As you know, Fiji has a long tradition of welcoming royal visitors over the years and our two countries have enjoyed a close relationship and friendship. We share Commonwealth values and common goals – a love of rugby and a sense of humor! Our ties run deep."
Oh, Harry. Such a jokester. He then went on to commend the countries' steady history as war-time allies, adding, "I must emphasize my respect, admiration and camaraderie with the Fijian soldiers that I served with in Afghanistan," he said. "We trained together, we fought together, and most importantly, we laughed together."
Considering how much he and Markle are expected to smile in public — on this trip, especially — it's no doubt he repeatedly emphasized the significance of humor. They certainly need something to keep them grinning for 16 days straight. Well, other than each other, of course.


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Kurt Erich Schreiber (ur. 1911, zm. ?) – zbrodniarz hitlerowski, członek załogi obozu koncentracyjnego Flossenbürg i SS-Hauptscharführer.

Członek personelu Flossenbürga od 1941 do lutego 1945 roku, gdzie pełnił służbę jako urzędnik w wydziale odpowiedzialnym za pracę przymusową więźniów, kierownik drużyny roboczej, członek plutonu egzekucyjnego i oficer szkoleniowy rekrutów SS. Schreiber brał udział w licznych masowych egzekucjach, które miały miejsce na terenie Flossenbürga (m.in. w styczniu 1942 roku w rozstrzelaniu ok. 50 jeńców radzieckich). Często maltretował więźniów.

W pierwszym procesie załogi Flossenbürga przed amerykańskim Trybunałem w Dachau za swoje zbrodnie Schreiber skazany został na 20 lat pozbawienia wolności.

Bibliografia
 Strona internetowa, na której znajdują się dokumenty z procesów załogi Flossenbürga (w tym uzasadnienie wyroku wydanego na Kurta Ericha Schreibera

Członkowie SS
Niemieccy zbrodniarze wojenni w okresie II wojny światowej
Personel Flossenbürga
Urodzeni w 1911
Zmarli w XX wieku
Osądzeni przez Trybunał Wojskowy w Dachau

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Vancouverites
Of Manwolfs & Movies: The Mezmerising Universe Of Corey Adams
By Grady Mitchell
by Grady Mitchell | "It was the hardest and best thing I've ever done. I had not a clue what I was getting into." That's Corey Adams talking about his first feature film, Machotaildrop, which he wrote and directed with Alex Craig in 2009. If you've never seen it, you really should. Filmed in Vancouver and Hungary, it's a grippingly bizarre, Willy Wonka-inspired fantasy that follows the misadventures of Walter Rhum, a young skateboarder and newly-turned pro for the shadowy skate company Machotaildrop. Featuring John Rattray and Rick McCrank, the film is a cult favourite, especially among skateboarders for its squad of roving villains, the iconic Manwolfs (more on them later).
A big part of the film's appeal is its totally immersive world, about which Alex and Craig were ludicrously detailed. From each characters' distinctly odd costume to the dreamlike nooks and vaulting chambers of the castle they inhabit (not to mention the strange retro knick-knacks that occupy those rooms), every minute detail contributes to the Machotaildrop universe. Mementos from the film are spread across Corey and Alex's East Vancouver studio: a banner depicting a hand throwing three lightning bolts, a Manwolfs vest hung on the wall, a bust of Rick's head on a shelf above a desk.
Machtaildrop came off with help from Fuel TV, who awarded Alex and Corey a million dollar investment after they won a short film contest with their entry Harvey Spannos. The signature style they developed in the feature carries over into most of Corey's work – few filmmakers blend their personal and commissioned projects so seamlessly. Whether he's making an ad for Poler or a music video for Jacuzzi Boys, Corey injects each project with his playful vision. Rather than limit the possibilities, often the assignment's restrictions allow for inventive solutions that wouldn't happen if he were given free reign. "It's good to be put in that situation and try and do something that's completely foreign to you," Corey says.
There's no secret to his creative process – or if there is, he wishes somebody would fill him in. "I probably wouldn't struggle so much," he says. One thing he knows for sure is that inspiration never strikes while you're staring at a blank screen. "That's the worst place to come up with an idea, sitting in front of that stupid machine." It's in the off-the-clock moments that his ideas spark.
A childhood enchantment with campy spy disguises shows up often in his characters' fake beards, prosthetics, and costumes. "I've always loved the idea of dressing up," Corey says. It's also a throwback to his experience working on special effects for films (his last job was pumping gallons and gallons of blood for Freddy Vs. Jason).
Often his characters run through lightning fast quick-cut montages of their adventures. Some of them, as in Poler's Landlouping ad or his commercial for Native Shoes, document the process of how a product gets made – although it more often involves sorcery and potions than stitches and glue. Other times, as in the video for Mister Heavenly's song Bronx Sniper, it's all mayhem and debauchery. For that one they took over a condemned house and set loose a savage gang of Manwolfs to demolish it with sledgehammers, motorcycles and chainsaws.
The Manwolfs quasi-cult has become one of Corey's most enduring creations. If you've spent any time around East Van you've probably seen the patch of a howling, blue-furred werewolf. The Manwolfs often pop up in Corey's films, generally in a shit-stirring capacity. The beloved hooligans even inspired a signature shoe from skate company Es.
Looking at his work, it's easy to see that skateboarding has had a profound influence on Corey's career. It was the way he got introduced to a camera in the first place. When he and his friends wanted to film themselves skateboarding growing up, it meant begging their moms to rent a camera. Not the slim digital jobs of today, but one of those hulking VHS monsters. That night, just for kicks and knowing they had to return the camera in the morning, they'd make short films and fake commercials. "The skateboard takes you to these weird spots that you'd otherwise never go to," Corey says. "It always led you into the unknown."
Next Corey's working on a project entitled Atlas Electric. Without giving too much away, Corey explains that the film will follow three young boys who discover and harbour a fugitive robot. Filming has already begun, and the project will be tied in with an app, although he's not sharing the details of that yet. They hope to hit the festival circuit next year, then release the film episodically.
To see some of Corey's work, visit his site.
The Dishes / East Vancouver
Brian Grant Does 'The Dishes'
In the latest edition of The Dishes, Resurrection Spirits co-founder Brian Grant takes us around town to his favourite food/drink spots.
Vancouverites / Downtown
On Soaring Inspirations and Grounding Words of Advice With Artist Tara Lee Bennett
With her personal art practice, the co-founder of THRIVE Art Studio hones in on the beautiful and non-trivial minutiae of life...
The New Breed / Commercial Drive
The Commercial Drive Restaurateur Who Once Kept a Bottle of Wine as a Pet
Jamie Mah
Van Doren Chan is a veteran of Vancouver's hospitality scene and the FOH force behind the critically acclaimed Ugly Dumpling restaurant.
Railtown's "Ask For Luigi" Expands Hours & Launches Early Bird Brunch Bonus
Les Amis Du Fromage To Host Trio Of Pop-Ups Over "Culture Crawl" Weekend
See more from Vancouverites
Deciphering Disembodied Hands and Symbolic Birds With Local Artist Meg Keetley
The local artist-slash-activist explains the themes and ideas inspiring her artwork in this short but in-depth interview.
Vancouverites / East Vancouver
Getting 'Beastly' With Local Artist Paige Bowman
Get up close with some of Paige's creatures by heading to the Slice of Life Gallery's Holiday Market, happening daily until December 15.
How One Self-Care Ritual Blossomed Into a Unique Local Business for Reiko Katayama
Katayama's beautiful WA MOGA 29 floral creations will be available at the Got Craft? Holiday Market, December 7-8.


The Prize for the Best LGBTQ Film of the Sunny Bunny competition program is awarded to 'The Heiresses' by Marcelo Martinessi.
The 47th Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival has announced its winners.
The Festival Jury awarded the winners in six nominations. There was also a traditional for the festival Shoot&Play competition, according to the festival's website.
The Grand-Prix of the festival for the best first full-length film, the Scythian Deer, and a $10,000 prize from the Loto Zabava lottery was awarded to Andrius Blaževičius for his film 'The Saint' (Lithuania, Poland, 2016).
The prize for the best full-length film and $2,000 by the sponsor of the festival, Liudmyla Rusalina, was awarded to Hlynur Pálmason for his film 'Winter Brothers' (Denmark, Iceland, 2017).
The Special Jury Diploma of Full-Length Competition was awarded to 'The Load' by Ognjen Glavonić (Serbia, France, Croatia, Iran, Qatar, 2018).
The Prize for the Best Short Film was awarded to 'The Blissful Accidental Death' by Sergiu Negulici (Romania, 2017).
The Prize for the Best Student Film was awarded to 'Close Ties' by Zofia Kowalewska (Poland, 2016).
The Special Jury Diploma of Student Films Competition was awarded to 'Ocean Swells' by Sverre Matias Glenne (Norway, 2016).
Teen Screen Competition Jury has awarded its prize to Half Ticket by Samit Kakkad (India, 2016).
The Special Jury Diplomas of Teen Screen Competition were awarded to 'Supa Modo' by Likarion Wainaina (Kenya, Germany, 2018) and 'Behind the Blue Door' by Mariusz Palej (Poland, 2016).
The Prize for the Best Film in National Competition and a UAH 50,000 prize from Dim Master Klass was awarded to 'Weightlifter' by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk (Ukraine, Poland, 2018) – for virtuosic directing and impressive imagery.
The Special Jury Diplomas of National Competition were awarded to 'Unavailable' by Nikon Romanchenko (Ukraine, 2017) – for a delicate view and particular tone; and to 'The Wonderful Years' by Svitlana Shymko and Galina Yarmanova (Ukraine, 2018) – for subtle display of an unknown world.
The Audience Award of the 47th Molodist KIFF went to the film 'Silent Night' by Piotr Domalewski (Poland, 2016).
The best film of Shoot&Play competition is 'Your Choice Will Benefit You' by Anastasiia Khomenko. She also received $1,000 from MSL state lotteries.
The Special Jury Diplomas of Sunny Bunny Competition Jury were awarded to The 'Cakemaker' by Ofir Raul Graizer and 'Hard Paint' by Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon.
The Scythian Deer for the contribution to world cinematography was awarded to the German actor, Jürgen Prochnow.


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Liz Unna.
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Imprint Presents: The Wrangle with Abigail Schama
During lockdown Charlotte Speechley and I had the great pleasure of collaborating with artist Abigail Schama on a film about her work and process. She makes exquisite, thoughtful and thought-provoking ceramics. The film was a joy to make – it feels very intimate and handmade, and somehow captures the magic… Read More
Photographer Charlotte Speechley and I have been collaborating during lockdown with artist Abigail Schama on a film about her work. It's been a beautiful inspiring process and we are so proud of the film. More info about its release soon.
https://www.shots.net/news/view/on-reflection-the-unquiet-film-series… Read More
https://www.shots.net/news/view/sap-and-karlie-kloss-partner-for-superheroes… Read More
new project in the works…
Marmalade – In conversation with… Liz Unna
With the 21st April being Creativity and Innovation Day we spoke to Liz Unna about her creative practice and processes and how she uses her creativity to tackle pressing societal issues. https://marmaladefilmandmedia.com/creative-agency-blog-the-jam/in-conversation-with-liz-unna… Read More
Campaign Live – Is advertising at a turning point for female directors?
As a female commercials director in a male-dominated field, Liz Unna wonders if the advertising industry has finally reached a turning point like Hollywood. https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/advertising-turning-point-female-directors/1454895… Read More
Huffington post – Directors, Awards and Sexism
It's 2018 and there are no women nominated as best director in the Golden Globes or the BAFTA's. Sigh. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/directors-awards-and-sexism-where-are-the-female-nominees_uk_5a58e79be4b0a233482e0a91… Read More
Campaign – 10 female directors you should know
After pledging to include a female director in every three-way pitch, Brothers and Sisters' Andy Fowler names the ones to watch. https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/10-female-directors-know/1420726… Read More
Shots – A Day in the Life of Liz Unna
Saddle up for a day in the life of the Independent Films director as she takes on skunk-scented dogs, Ghost Ranches & contradictory billboards. https://www.shots.net/news/view/94459-a-day-in-the-life-of-liz-unna … Read More
© Liz Unna 2021 | Built by Laura McCartney


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Khayyam Metro Station is a station in Tehran Metro Line 1. It is located in Khayyam Street. It is between Meydan-e Mohammadiyeh Metro Station and Panzdah-e-Khordad Metro Station. The station provides access to Tehran Grand Bazar.

References

Tehran Metro stations


About 2 in 3 American adults say fabricated news stories cause a great deal of confusion about the basic facts of current affairs, according to a Pew Research Center report last month. The survey found that Republicans and Democrats are about equally likely to say that "fake news" leaves Americans deeply confused about current events. Despite the concern, more than 8 in 10 feel very or somewhat confident that they can recognize news that is fabricated, the survey found.


With an ever-growing number of mouths to feed, the issue about how to feed everyone is becoming a major concern. It is not a new fact that our current strategies of consumption are less than sustainable – in fact, every cow in the United States requires 5 acres of land for grazing (which could sustain 5 vegans for a year!). As a result, scientists are beginning to look at different solutions to our problem, exploring everything from new technology to old farming practices.
In terms of new technology, Genetically Modified (GM) food will be a large part of sustaining food requirements. GMs can be grown quickly and in harsh climates. This will allow people from all over the world to eat food previously unavailable in their area.
Old farming practices, however, should not be discarded. Rotation of crops will be vital, to ensure that land remains fertile for the future. Also, education of such topics to undeveloped countries will help promote local food growth, providing more food to the people who need it.
The biggest thing, though, which needs to change in our practices is our lifestyle. In order to support 7 billion people, we need to stop wasting food. How many times have you gone to the grocery store to stock up on food, only to throw half of it away within the next two weeks? We need to start being more conscientious of what we buy, and start managing our precious resources better.
To check out more sustainable eating practices (such as vegetarian and vegan lifestyles), Click Here!


Buying a property in South West France is the culmination of a dream for many people. The process is fairly consistent, the service provided by each agency is not.
With GPS technology freely available we understand the desire of our clients to have Google Earth coordinates and/or property addresses in order to investigate the location of properties from the internet rather than by personal visit.
They also put in context, in general terms, neighbours (attached, none in sight etc) and location (suburban, isolated etc) and these elements can be selected on our website Advanced Search.


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Iowa baseball: What we've learned from the Hawkeyes heading into Big Ten play
The Hawkeyes are 12-7 heading into Big Ten play. A look at the biggest takeaways from the season's first five weeks.
Iowa baseball: What we've learned from the Hawkeyes heading into Big Ten play The Hawkeyes are 12-7 heading into Big Ten play. A look at the biggest takeaways from the season's first five weeks. Check out this story on hawkcentral.com: http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sports/college/iowa/baseball/2018/03/22/iowa-baseball-what-weve-learned-hawkeyes-heading-into-big-ten-conference-play/449246002/
, msouthard@gannett.com Published 4:20 p.m. CT March 22, 2018 | Updated 6:24 p.m. CT March 22, 2018
Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller breaks down the Hawkeyes' Big Ten schedule outlook.
Iowa's Mitchell Boe (4) stands at first base during the Hawkeyes' game against Cornell College at Duane Banks Field on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. (Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)Buy Photo
IOWA CITY, Ia. — Following a stellar 2017 season that included a riveting postseason run, the Hawkeyes baseball program had tons of buzz built up heading into this year.
Nineteen games into the current campaign, Iowa (12-7) has shown flashes of continued success and moments of futility during its nonconference slate. Aside from seven more midweek games and a series versus Oklahoma State, it's Big Ten Conference play from here on out. Rick Heller's squad opens the conference season this weekend against No. 11 Indiana.
Iowa is one game better entering the Big Ten slate than it was last year, but the Hawkeyes' conference schedule is much tougher in 2018. Of the six other Big Ten schools currently above .500, Iowa faces five of them.
"There have been some bumps," junior outfielder Robert Neustrom said, "but it's a long season. It's a marathon, not a sprint."
A quality showing in Big Ten play could lead to an NCAA Tournament-worthy resume, but Iowa must be sharp most weekends over the next two months. A look at what we've learned from the Hawkeyes so far.
Weekend rotation has kept Iowa in games
Arguably the biggest preseason unknown has yielded positive results so far. Through five weekends, Iowa's starting pitching trio of Nick Allgeyer, Brady Schanuel and Cole McDonald has been a reliable bunch that's rounding into form.
Allgeyer (2-1, 1.76 ERA) has been the Friday night horse Heller expected him to be, having yielded just six earned runs in 30 2/3 innings. That effort shakes out to a 1.76 ERA, currently tops in the conference.
Iowa pitcher Nick Allgeyer poses for a photo before practice at the indoor practice facility on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018. (Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)
At his best, Allgeyer has been downright filthy. Even at his worst, the 6-foot-3 southpaw has kept Iowa in the game. The Hawkeyes are 4-1 in Allgeyer starts and will need their ace to stay in tip-top shape moving forward.
MORE: After Tommy John trek, Iowa's Nick Allgeyer ready to be a weekend anchor in 2018
"As good as Nick Allgeyer has pitched, and I think he's pitched really well, I just think his command can be even better," Heller said. "And his location, as the weather warms up and we get into April — he's got a chance to be even better than he is."
Schanuel (3-2, 3.27) began the year a bit dinged up after a preseason rotator cuff issue, but Iowa's prized junior college addition has bounced back well, particularly his last three starts. After getting rocked versus Ball State on Feb. 24, Schanuel has surrendered just seven hits and two runs over his last 15 innings.
The Iowa staff would like to see Schanuel's pitch count drop a bit — he's needed 90-plus pitches to get through five innings in each of his last two outings — but the Parkland College transfer has moved into the Saturday role nicely.
"He has those innings where he gets up around (30 pitches) — and he doesn't give up a run — but next thing you know, he's at 100 (pitches) in the fifth inning," Heller said. "We'd like to see that in the seventh inning. But he's a much better pitcher than when he started out, and as the season goes along, I think you'll see him become more efficient as well."
McDonald (1-1, 3.70), meanwhile, has had the bumpiest road of the three, but the junior right-hander has started to build confidence following a rough 2018 debut. Oakland lit up McDonald on Feb. 17, but he's churned out three decent starts since.
Having a reliable arm in that Sunday slot is imperative if Iowa wants to make some noise during the Big Ten slate, and it's McDonald's job until his performance dictates otherwise. He's mostly held up his end so far.
"When Cole's down in the zone and locating up in the zone when he wants to, he can be really efficient and go deep into games," Heller said. "He's just had some games where he's had to labor and been missing mid-thigh to the belt. And when he does that, he gives up some hits and some runs and throws a lot more pitches than he needs to.
"So I really think as well as they've all done, there are better days ahead, possibly."
Bullpen must regain confidence
Maybe the most surprising development five weeks in has been the Hawkeyes' lack of bullpen consistency. Iowa has used 12 different relievers over the first 19 games. Some arms have looked solid — others not so much — resulting in a 5.33 bullpen ERA.
The recent back-end struggles are a large factor in why Iowa has dropped six of 10 following an 8-1 start. The bullpen sputtered mightily in the Hawkeyes' series loss to UNLV and wasn't particularly impressive in either midweek loss.
"It's mainly just getting their confidence back," Heller said, "because they have the stuff to be successful. There's no doubt about that. It's just they've been falling behind in counts and walking guys, and it usually stems from lack of command with their secondary stuff."
Iowa's Trenton Wallace delivers a pitch during the Hawkeyes' game against Cornell College at Duane Banks Field on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. (Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)
Among relievers who were expected to throw pivotal innings, Kyle Shimp (9.39 ERA), Shane Ritter (6.23 ERA) and Nick Nelsen (5.40 ERA) have been the most disappointing. The freshmen arms have been hit-and-miss. Zach Daniels has been his usual self (2.03 ERA, 16 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings). The Hawkeyes also may have found a potential hidden weapon in Grant Leonard, who has a team-high 11 appearances after making only two all of last season.
There's still plenty of time for the bullpen to be what Iowa hoped it'd be, but that unit must sharpen up in conference play.
"They just have to keep getting better," Heller said, "and that's what we'll tell them."
Help up top
He's only been back for a week, but the return of Chris Whelan has already boosted Iowa's lineup. The redshirt junior, who missed the first 14 games after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October, is hitting .450 (9-for-20) with a .522 on-base percentage since returning last weekend against Evansville.
"My strength came back a lot faster than I thought it would," Whelan said Wednesday. "But that came with me putting in the work when I was finally cleared to hit in controlled settings without being in a game. I've been doing well, and I'm just trying to keep that up and help the team win."
Whelan is relegated to DH duties for the time being, but his name atop the batting order each game should permeate the rest of the lineup.
The early-season showings from Tyler Cropley, Matt Hoeg and Kyle Crowl have allowed Heller to slide Neustrom up to the No. 2 spot which should provide more RBI opportunities with Whelan back active.
Chris Whelan on his return, Iowa's outlook heading into Big Ten Conference play.
Resume watch
As magical as Iowa's Big Ten Tournament title run last year was, the Hawkeyes can't bank on that every spring. Heller has repeatedly stressed that Iowa's next step as a program is consistently generating resumes worthy of at-large bids.
The Hawkeyes have let opportunities slip away in that regard. As of Thursday, Iowa's RPI sits at 84, sixth-highest in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes have just one top-100 RPI win — Virginia Tech at No. 99 — and have suffered four top-100 losses.
Iowa's Kyle Crowl runs to first base during the Hawkeyes' game against Cornell College at Duane Banks Field on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. (Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)
Chances for resume builders existed with the Missouri State showdown (would've been a top-100 win) and the UNLV series (the Rebels' RPI is 13 and fourth best among non-Power Five schools). But Iowa went 0-for-4.
That's where the Hawkeyes' amplified Big Ten schedule could work in its favor. Iowa's first five conference series are against top-100 RPI schools: Indiana (53), Illinois (34), Ohio State (28), Nebraska (82) and Minnesota (87). Also throw in the early-May series against Oklahoma State (98).
The at-large margin for error is slimmer in the Big Ten — this isn't the SEC, where you're facing a potential regional host or national seed every weekend — but there still appears to be an at-large path if the Hawkeyes can rack up series wins.
It's on Iowa to take care of business.
Dargan Southard covers preps, recruiting, Iowa and UNI athletics for the Iowa City Press-Citizen, The Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.